They Learned This Week: Perfection is hard to come by!

So after each week we’re going to recap the week that was in the CFL with a quick hit for each team.   A key lesson each team did (or at least I would hope they did) learn from the week that was. Admittedly like any good idea, this one is stolen from the fine gentlemen over at The Two-Line Pass hockey blog and their very amusing weekly “What We Learned” feature. I don’t claim that this will be as amusing, it will be at least a good way to spend a Monday (or Tuesday when the holiday games hit) morning trying to sum up the week’s actions in a few lines…

BC - You can’t win if your defense is playing most of the third quarter. They had a lead at the half thanks to a late 2nd quarter ten point rally and came within a yard of opening scoring in the 2nd half but lost the ball on a fumble and then 88 yards and 14 plays and nearly nine minutes off the clock later the Ti-Cats had a touchdown.  That was punishment enough for the defense, but to make matters worse the Lions fumble the kickoff and the gassed defense is right back on the field.  They can hardly be blamed to giving up that late 3rd quarter TD.

Calgary - Conservative play calling when you’re only up by six with two minutes left (aka forever in the CFL) is a death sentence. You have the most athletic QB in the league, arguably the best wide receiving group in the league… and the best you can call is a regular run up the gut on a second and six?  Sure hindsight is always 20/20 and you could have thrown that ball only to have it intercepted or a wide pitch out or option play that resulted in a fumble, but at least we couldn’t accuse you of trying to eek out a win!

Edmonton - Ricky Ray isn’t a robot after all, he only has a robot like arm. You know you have a very solid rep as a stoned faced QB when TSN takes time to freeze the one frame of film where you can be seen smiling after a TD play.  Esks fans have complained at times about how little emotion Ray actually emotes and if that has been the reason behind the Esks slow start, but really Esks fans your starting QB could be Jimmy Kemp so quit complaining already!

Hamilton - Quinton Porter is going to be just fine. Any doubts that Porter wouldn’t be able to carry the load as the Ti-Cats starting QB should have been erased during that aforementioned 88 yard drive against the Lions in the 3rd quarter.  His overall numbers for that game wern’t mind boggling, but they were solid and at no point during that game was there a thought that backup Kevin Glenn should be brought in.  That in itself is a small victory and speaks well for the future of Porter as QB.

Montreal - A perfect season was simply a pipe dream. The last time a CFL team had less than five losses in a season was in 2007 when the Lions went 14-3-1.  Before that it was 1997 when a team last had less than five losses (Toronto went 15-3-0).  With as much parody in the CFL as there is and only one week off in the span of 19, it’s foolish to think a team can go 18 and 0 in a season, but yet some media started wondering after the Argos convincing 4-0 start if it was possible.  It isn’t.  I’m sure the Als themselves wern’t thinking that far ahead though and they should bounce back easily next week.

Saskatchewan - You’re the only team with more than nine home games a season. Thanks to the fact you play at least one – and in this season’s case two – games in Calgary where seemingly half of Saskatchewan moves to for the week, you get the support of at least half the sold out McMahon stadium crowd.  I’m not sure that even the Eskimos don’t get the kind of support in Calgary like your team does, and Edmonton fans are only three hours north.  (One and a half if you’re driving like a mad man or woman down the QE2 highway)

Toronto - Turnovers suck, but untimely penalties suck more! The Argos committed seven turnovers in Saturday’s game, yet they still had a chance to win at the end of the game only to commit the cardinal sin of taking a time count penalty before that field goal attempt while they still had a time out available to take!  Ideally the holder should have one eye on the clock and one on the upcoming snap, but even if he missed the chance to call a time out, where was the coach?!  It’s screw ups like that are the reason the Argos haven’t won at home in a full calender year.

Winnipeg - Bishop may not be the long term answer, but he’s a good stop gap solution. A week ago when the Blue Bombers signed QB Mike Bishop he was playing semi-pro ball in Texas.  five days later he’s leading his new team over one of his old teams and suddenly the Bombers situation on offense doesn’t look so dire.  Will he be around after this season?  Well if his history with the Argos and Riders is any indication, probably not.  But word has it he’s joined Winnipeg with a renewed sense of dedication to game study so maybe this time around is different?  The Bombers hope so!